Nevermore
by Prince Jiita
Summary: Gohan tries to cope with the loss of his love...M/M, NO SEX, Madness, Edgar Allen Poe, Humor,


AN: This story is an adaption of the poem „The Raven" by Edgar Allen Poe. I tried to keep most of the original dialogue so it might feel a bit strange at first. But perhaps you will understand more once you read the whole of the story.

I didn't write the poem, Poe did, and I don't claim ownership of it. I alöso don't own DBZ or anything connected to it. I make no money out of this fic.

Nevermore

Son Gohan was sitting in his study, late at night. The room was rather dark, only a small floor lapm and a low fire in the fireplace cast a little light. Most of thw walls were lined with bookshelves and above the door sat a bust of Piccolo. His mentor had always made fun of this little fancy in Gohan's study.

Gohan was sitting in a purple armchair, reading in an old book. He was almost dozing off when he suddenly heard a strange noise shattering the silence surrounding the young Saiyajin. He stirred, trying to recognize what that noise was.

"'Tis some visitor," he muttered, shaking his weary head, "tapping at my chamber door - Only this, and nothing more."

He looked at the dying flames in the fireplace and his eyes grew sad. He had tried to divert his sorrowful thoughts from the subject that pained him most. He hoped the morning would soon come so the daylight could chase away the darkness in his soul. But it was December, and the shadows that the low glow cast seemed to form ghostly images of the one he had lost in front of his eyes. Mirai Trunks. His only true love, lost to him forever. This rare and radiant saiyan whom the angels – or his parents - named Trunks. But the timetraveller had died, never to be brought back again. Only the memories of him would remain in these rooms for evermore.

Gohan pulled back from this reverie, the ghostly images slowly melting away in the shadows again. He tried to push aside the terror in his heart. He stood up and shook his head. Then, to calm himself even further, he whispered to himself. "'Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door - Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door; - This it is, and nothing more."

Feeling a lot calmer he didn't wait any longer. "Sir," said he said loudly, turning to the door, "or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore; But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping, and so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door, that I scarce was sure I heard you." He opened the door widely, expecting to see one of his friends, or a person who had become lost in the dark. But there was only darkness outside, nothing more.

Gohan peered long and hard into the darkness. He wondered what that all meant, and in his heart a mix of fear and excitement arose. Could it be? Impossible, he should not even dream about such things. Nothing came out of the dark, nothing stirred, and the only word that could be heard was "Trunks". Gohan had only whispered that one word, and the darkness returned this as an echo of "Trunks". But nothing more.

Gohan closed the door again and turned back into his study. His soul was burning inside of him. He felt a great sadness and follishness. Suddenly he heard the noise again.

"Surely," said he, "surely that is something at my window lattice; Let me see then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore - Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore; - 'Tis the wind and nothing more!"

Gohan pushed open the window. As soon as it was opened, a huge black bird, a raven, stepped inside. The raven was midnight black, and the feathers on his head took the oddly familiar shape of a flame. The raven did neither stop nor turn his black eyes on Gohan. It just stepped in and fluttered up to the bust of Piccolo above the door. There he sat down, and did nothing more.

While looking at the oddly looking bird Gohan had to smile despite his sadness. The raven looked to stern and grave, like only one other creature he had ever known. "Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou," he said, "art sure no craven. Ghastly grim and ancient raven wandering from the nightly shore - Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!" He almost expected to hear the name 'Vegeta' or 'None of your business' in the gruff Saiyajin's voice. But instead of that the raven quoth: "Nevermore."

Gohan looked at the strange creature and marvelled at this clearly spoken word, thought it carried no meaning, no relevancy. But he was sure he was the first person to ever find a bird as such sitting on a bust above his door with a name as 'Nevermore'.

But the raven didn't say anything else but that one word, as if all he wanted to tell was lying in that one outpour. He didn't speak again or even moved a single feather, until Gohan whispered in a low voice: "Other friends have flown before - On the morrow he will leave me, as my hopes have flown before." He closed his eyes, feeling a deep pang of loneliness and sadness again. Then the bird said, "Nevermore."

Gohan was startled at that reply, mostly because it was so adequate, so fitting to what he had said. Then he shook his head. "Doubtless," Gohan said to himself, "what it utters is its only stock and store, caught from some unhappy master whom unmerciful disaster followed fast and followed faster till his songs one burden bore - Till the dirges of his hope that melancholy burden bore of 'Never-nevermore.'" Gohan could understand that master's feelings very well. They bore a certain resemblance to his very own.

Again Gohan had to smile when he looked at the raven. His curiosity had been stirred. He turned his armchair around, so it faced the door, bust and raven. He sat down again, resting his chin in the palm of his hand, watching the bird. He wondered what that grim, ominous bird might mean by croaking 'Nevermore.'

He sat there lost im thoughts, being fully consumed in wondering about the raven whose fiery black eyes seem to stare directly in to his soul, not unlike a certain saiyajin's. His mind had wandered away from the subject of his sadness, but after a while he looked at the floor lamp, remembering hos many times Trunks had come into his study, telling him it was late and than Gohan should come to bed. Then he usually had turned off the light and had taken Gohan by his hand to lead him aut of the study. That lamp, oh, HE would never touch it again!

Suddenly Gohan felt like the air grew denser, as if something or someone was in the room with him, something unseen, but still felt. He looked around, as if he suspected to see someone standing behind him. But he was alone, except for the raven on the bust. Gohan stared at him again, fear and sadness overwhelming his heart. He thought about the pills that the doctor had left for him, the tranquilizers. Maybe if he took enough he could forget about Trunks for a while. Weren't drugs supposed to do that? "Wretch," he cried out, his voice filled with despair, "thy God hath lent thee - by these angels he has sent thee! Respite - respite and nepenthe from thy memories of Trunks! Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe, and forget this lost Trunks!" Quoth the raven, "Nevermore." Gohan's eyes were filled to the brim with sorrow, his shoulders hung weakly. He knew the raven was probably right, he would never be able to forget Trunks, not even if he took all the drugs available at once.

"Prophet!" Gohan adressed the raven, "thing of evil! - prophet still, if bird or devil! - Whether tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore, desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted - on this home by horror haunted - tell me truly, I implore - is there - is there balm in Gilead? - tell me - tell me, I implore!" He needed to know if there was anything – ANYTHING – that could ease his suffering. Anything that could stop the pain, any kind of remedy. Quoth the raven, "Nevermore." No, there was nothing, nothing in the world could ever ease his pain at the loss. The flame shaped feathers atthe raven's head swayed slightly as he cocked his head to the side, eyeing Gohan with his black eyes.

"Prophet!" tried Gohan again, "thing of evil! - prophet still, if bird or devil! By that Heaven that bends above us - by that God we both adore - tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Other World, it shall clasp a sainted saiyan whom the angels named Trunks -

Clasp a rare and radiant saiyan, whom the angels named Trunks?" That was his last hope. Maybe they would be one day reunited in Other World. Quoth the raven, "Nevermore."

Gohan stared at the bird, his eyes growing large, a violent pain and rage filling his heart. "Be that word our sign of parting, bird or fiend!" he screamed at the raven, jumping out of his seat, clasping his hands in his hair.

"Get thee back into the tempest and the Night's Plutonian shore!" He grabbed a vase from his desk and threw it at the bird, but missed. The raven didn't move.

"Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!" Gohan's hands grabbed the chair behind the desk and he flung it across the room. His eyes were balzing with fury. The bird didn't even flutter.

"Leave my loneliness unbroken! - quit the bust above my door!" Gohan upturned the desk searching for another object to throw. The desk hit the floor with a tremendous crush, spilling mos of the contend of its drawers on the ground.

"Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!" Gohan's voice almost cracked. Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'

The raven just sat there, on the bust of Piccolo, never moving, just watching. The lamp that had fallen to the ground cast its light over the bird and cast his shadow on the floor, looking ghastly and demon-like. In that shadow Gohan sank to his knees, cluthing his head. He sobbed, out of control, whimpering like a hurt animal. Then he rolled to his side and just lay there, still, unmoving, his eyes empty and void.

"Vegeta, Goku, what has happened here?" Bulma came running towards the two Saiyajin standing in front of Gohan's house. There were an ambulance and several other cars standing close by.

"Bulma, we have no idea. I came to check on Gohan this morning, to take him out for a bit of sparring. You know, he has been rather lonely since..." Goku looked worried and confused.

"When I knocked he didn't open the door so I had to force it open. He was on the floor in his study, he didn't react to me. He didn't move at all. I didn't know what to do so I called Vegeta."

Bulma nodded. She knew that Goku was usually looking at Vegeta for help in such highly confusing matters.

"When I entered the study and Gohan saw me, he started raving. He lashed out at us, threw himself against the walls and started to throw things at me." Vegeta continued to explain. "He then slumped down to the ground again, muttering 'Nevermore' all over, again and again. I saw no other choice but to call and ambulance. They will now bring him to a hospital, to check his mental status."

Together they went inside, since Bulma wanted to check the study. Maybe she could find an explanation. They passed the doctors leading Gohan outside. He started at Vegeta, and started to scream again. "Get the raven from my room, get him out! NEVERMORE! The raven in my room. NEVERMORE!"

Goku shook his head in sadness. "It looks like he lost his mind..."

Bulma looked around the room. There was no sign of a bird anywere. But the whole room was in ruins. Only the purple armchair was still standing. And on the armchair was a book. Bulma picked it up and looked at the title. 'The collected poems by Edgar Allen Poe'


End file.
